More Terracotta Warriors rise from the earth

Archeologists examine terracotta figures newly excavated from the No 1 Pit of the Terracotta Museum in Lintong, Xi'an, in this picture taken in August last year and was released Tuesday, May 18, 2010. The museum said on Tuesday it had completed the latest round of excavation and restoration after a year's work. About 120 more figures, some of them painted in pink, red and lilac, were excavated. 

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed about 120 more figures in their latest round of excavations at the Terracotta Army site that surrounds the tomb of China's first emperor in Shaanxi province.

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Most of the newly found Terracotta Warriors were broken when unearthed from the No 1 pit in Lintong county, 35 km east of Xi'an, Shaanxi's capital, where excavation started on June 13 last year, said Xu Weihong, acting head of the excavation team.

Xu said it was still hard to tell the exact number of the figures.

The No 1 pit is the first and largest of three pits at the site. It had also suffered the worst damage, so archaeologists had not pinned much hope on the excavation.

"It's a pleasant surprise to find some of them painted in pink, red, white, gray or lilac," Xu said.

Archaeologists said that the colors on the figures' faces showed their different expressions, but further studies will be needed.

Xu and his colleagues used special chemicals to preserve the figures' original colors and after taking photographs, wrapped them in plastic film for protection.

Richly colored figures were unearthed from the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of a united China, in the previous two excavations, but once they were exposed to the air they began to lose their luster and turned an oxidized grey.

To better protect the unearthed clay warriors and horses and the colors on them, the museum cooperated with German archaeologists and technicians for more than 10 years and achieved "very effective preservation technologies".

"We also found 12 clay horses and a number of other relics such as bronze weapons, wooden chariots, drums and wooden rings in the pit," Xu said.

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VK Pandey